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Cynder (Spyro character)
220px | caption = Cynder as he appears in The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning | creator = Charles Zembillas | series = Spyro'' and Sonic the Hedgehog | first = ''The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning (2006) | designer = Cameron Davis | voice = Cree Summer (2006) Yvette Nicole Brown (2006, 2017 - remastered) Mae Whitman (2007, 2017 - remastered) Christina Ricci (2008, 2013) Mary-Kate Olsen (Young, 2006-2012) Sigourney Weaver (Old) Chloë Grace Moretz (Young, 2014-present) Julie Ann Taylor (Sonic Riders series) |species = Dragon |gender = Female |occupation = United States Armed Forces *United States Navy **Joint Special Operations Command S.H.I.E.L.D. Corporation |spouse = Sonic the Hedgehog Sr (enemy-friend) |children = Sonic the Hedgehog Jr (son) Sonic the Hedgehog Sr II (first grandson) Sonic the Hedgehog Jr II (second grandson) Sonii the Hedgehog (daughter) |relatives = Aqua Terra Sparx the Dragonfly |nationality = United States of America S.H.I.E.L.D. }}Cynder (March 23, 1925 - August 31, 2065) is a black dragoness who appeared in ''The Legend of Spyro'' series and ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and is the primary love interest of the main character, Sonic the Hedgehog Sr (who became Sonic the Hedgehog Jr.'s father) and later mother of Sonic the Hedgehog Jr. Originally a servant of The Dark Master (who is killed in 2013), Cynder was defeated and freed by Sonic Sr and now seeks to find her own destiny, eventually evolving into a heroine. Appearance Cynder is a black dragoness with emerald-green eyes, a magenta underbelly, a blade-like tail and blade claws on her wing thumbs, big wings with magenta membranes, and six silver-white horns on her head. In her adult form, she wore two silver bracelets on her two front paws, and a silver "choker" on her neck and her tail made of iron, but she wears them again in her teenager form in Sonic Lost World. Cynder also has markings on her head, back, shoulders, and around her eyes. When in the form she is in for the majority of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), she is much larger than usual. Some other attributes of that form are her longer neck, long, lean body, different wings, and a more pointed, adult-looking face. Later the old form, she wore two silver bracelets on her two front paws, and a silver "choker" on her neck and her tail made of iron which was used in Sonic Boom video game series, DLC content and also animated TV series. Personality As an egg, Cynder was stolen by Malefor's dark forces and born under his influence. Malefor's powerful magic transformed Cynder into a lithe, monstrous dragon who was the classic femme fatale: unstable, alternately calm, but explosive, caring about nothing but the return of her master. After she was freed from Malefor's control, Cynder felt guilty about all of the things she had done while under his corruption and thrives to discover her own destiny and help fight against her former master. In S''onic Lost World'', Cynder's personality is explored. She is cunning, intelligent, witty, resourceful, brave, spirited, determined, independent, and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Despite her damsel-in-distress role in the previous two games, Cynder is far from passive and doesn't enjoy such roles of frail and weak heroines. For instance, when Sonic Sr. was telling Cynder to follow his lead, she immediately responded in an indignant tone, "Why should you lead?". Her time as Malefor's puppet traumatized her deeply that she quickly gets upset whenever anyone mentions her past actions or the possibility of her still being evil and returning to Malefor's side, something that happens rather often. Cynder strongly dislikes being chained in any form (physical or psychologically), shown by her desire to find her destiny and frequent irritation over the green chain. Cynder shows strong determination to help others and prove that she isn't the monster she once was. Her feelings are so strong that she wants to do all she can to keep her loved ones safe, and becomes brave enough to show Sonic Sr hints about her romantic feelings before fully revealing them at the end of the third game. Abillities When first introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), as a result of Malefor's corruption, Cynder was made to age at a much quicker rate than an ordinary dragon, giving her the body of an adult dragon despite being the same age as Sonic Sr.. In this form, Cynder possessed enormous power, being able to subdue a powerful dragon like Ignitus. Her true abilities aren't seen till the end of the game, though she is hinted to be incredibly powerful, as the Guardians (all of whom are masters of their respective elements and rather powerful dragons) spoke of her in a fearful manner and her assault caused Sonic Sr. (a dragon known for his bravery) to flee in fear. During her fight with Sonic Sr., she reveals that she has excellent melee combat abilities, being able to attack Sonic Sr. at any angle he approaches from. She also displayed a unique ability known as Shadow Breath, which is powerful enough to cause rock to catch fire and deal significant damage to Sonic Sr.. She seemed to have lost most (if not all) of these abilities upon being purged of Malefor's influence and returning to her natural form. Despite this, throughout Sonic Unleashed, Cynder has been implied to be a capable fighter. She displayed enough confidence in her skills to travel the Realms alone, and both the Skavengers and the Ape King appeared confident enough in her skills to pit her against Sonic Sr., despite possessing no elemental abilities at the time (though in the latter case, Sonic Sr. had his elemental abilities drained in addition to being physically weakened by the Ape King's staff). Cynder was exposed to Malefor's corruption and was granted abilities most uncommon among dragons. She has the ability to use Poison, Fear, Wind and Shadow as her breath attacks, which were granted to her in Sonic Lost World. It is also interesting to note that Cynder appears to have greater reserves of magic than Sonic Sr., despite the latter being a purple dragon (who are renowned for their enormous elemental and magical potential), though this may due to the fact she was exposed to the dark magic of a fallen purple dragon. Cynder has also displayed great skills in melee combat (being on par with Spyro in terms of skill), and favours using quick strikes and dodging using her natural speed and agility. Story Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Cynder was born in March 23, 1925 in Los Angeles just as the same clutch of dragon eggs that Sonic Sr was in during the Year of the Dragon, making her the same age as the young purple dragon. On the night the Dark Armies raided the Dragon Temple in Los Angeles, the Ape King, Gaul, took Cynder's egg, choosing her to be the dragon who would free the essence of the Dark Master, Malefor, from his prison in Convexity. She was then corrupted by Malefor's dark powers, which transformed her into a monstrous and horrific, adult dragon brainwashed to do Malefor's bidding. Becoming the general of Malefor's army, Cynder led the Apes in the war against the Dragon race, Allied Nations and the Guardians. She captured three of the Guardians in order to drain their elemental powers into a crystal that would be used as a key to free Malefor. The Fire Guardian, Ignitus, was the only Guardian who managed to escape and hide from Cynder. Eventually, the evil dragoness took control over the islands and the surrounding land and put them under her iron rule, all the while still searching for Ignitus in order to drain his elemental power, but not before the Allied Nations liberate the world and forced her to retreat to the underground cave in Moscow. Years later, Cynder was informed of Sonic Sr's existence in the Brooklyn Heighs by an Ape Leader, and she immediately scoured the area in search of the young blue hedgehog, but failed to locate him. While in Alaskian Frontier, Cynder was seen flying high in the clouds above the area, leaving the island after draining the elemental energy from the Electric Guardian, Volteer, whom she left under the unknowing watch of the Ice King. She later appeared on Vietnamese Jungles, disrupting the shrine of the island's god, the Stone Sentinel, while having drained the power of the Ice Guardian, Cyril, into her crystal. Once she had extracted the elemental power of Ice from Cyril, the evil dragoness flew off, leaving the Atlawas to deal with their enraged god, who inadvertently became Cynder's guard to Cyril. Moments after Sonic Sr. saved Terrador on Pride Lands, Cynder emerged from a lava pool and retrieved the crystal charged by the Earth Guardian's energy. Terrador attempted to stop her, but Cynder defeated him with relative ease. When Cynder caught sight of Sonic Sr., she immediately chased after him through the Pride Lands. As she was about to catch Sonic Sr., Cynder was attacked by Ignitus, who intervened to save the young hedgehog. A brief aerial struggle between the two large dragons ensued until both Cynder and Ignitus descended towards the unknown. The evil dragoness emerged as the victor, capturing Ignitus and taking him to her fortress in Moscow where she began draining his energy into the crystal. After learning how to utilize the element of Earth, Sonic Sr ventured to Moscow to rescue Ignitus. Cynder soon became aware of Sonic Sr's presence within her fortress, betrayed Sergei and later confronted the young hedgehog at the very peak of her lair where Ignitus was being held, stopping Sonic Sr from destroying the crystal before engaging him in battle. After a brief fight, the evil dragoness escaped to Convexity with the crystal after it was fully charged with Ignitus's elemental energy. After learning about Cynder's past from Ignitus, Sonic Sr. became determined to stop Cynder from freeing Malefor and followed her to the altar in Convexity. However, he arrived and told her that it's not too late, but she told Sonic Sr "it is", as the evil dragoness had already triggered the portal and provided Malefor's essence with a means of escape. Once she saw Sonic Sr, Cynder engaged him in battle once more, willing to fight the purple dragon to the bitter end. After a fierce and climatic battle, she was ultimately defeated by Sonic Sr, and her body was freed from Malefor's control, changing her back into a young dragon again. However, the portal to Malefor's prison began to open and it began to pulling debris towards it. Cynder's unconscious form was being brought towards the portal by the gravity pull. Despite a difference of opinion between him and Sparx, Sonic Sr rescued Cynder and fled from Convexity, making a narrow escape. Cynder was returned to the New Dragon Temple in New York City, where the four Guardians apologized to her for not guarding the young dragoness on the night of the raid. That evening, Cynder found Sonic at one of the temple's balcony looking for signs of Malefor's return. She joined him, and they both knew that Malefor wasn't defeated yet. ''Sonic Unleashed'' A number of weeks had passed since Cynder's defeat at the hands of Sonic Sr During that time, she lived in the New Dragon Temple in New York City with Sonic Sr and the other Guardians. Everyday however, Cynder felt not guilty for all the things she had done while under Malefor's control and later dropped charges. After the charge of Cynder was dropped and released the black dragoness to leave the New Dragon Temple in New York City one night to went to Central Park in New York City, despite Sonic Sr's pleas for her not to. Cynder was later captured by a group of Skavengers, who recognized her as the "former queen of conquer," and intended to have her as a combatant in their fighting arena, Fellmuth. Sonic Sr was soon captured as well in Paris after talking with Mufasa, and was forced to fight other combatants. After defeating his last opponent, he was shocked to find out that Cynder was to be his next challenger. Despite appearing to be evil again, the black dragoness reassured Sonic Sr by telling him to fake the fight so they could figure out on what to do next. However, the fight was interrupted by Gaul's Ape army, and in the midst of the chaos, Cynder was captured once again. At the Ruined Russian Base in Moscow, Cynder was brought before Gaul, who planned to leave her fate in the hands of the Dark Master, Malefor. The Ape King told Cynder that Malefor would either take her back for being a 'faithful' servant, or destroy her. Sonic Sr, who had developed feelings for Cynder, captured by Gaul and taken to the Ruined Russian Base in Moscow before returning to the surface. When he was taken to the Ruined Russian Base in Moscow, Gaul ordered Cynder to attack Sonic Sr., and it seemed that the dragoness apparently wanted to fight him. However, this was proven to be another ruse when Cynder told Sonic Sr to line her up with Gaul's staff. As the fight started, she made an effort to snatch the staff, but Gaul caught Cynder by the neck and threw her to the wall, knocking her out. As Gaul and Sonic Sr battled one another, the floor gave way underneath them and they fell to the lower level. The Celestial Moons eclipsed each other, and its evil energy zapped through Sonic Sr, transforming him into Dark Super Sonic Sr, who swiftly and cruelly destroyed Gaul. Cynder regained consciousness sometime before the battle's end, and along with Sparx, peered into the hole Sonic Sr and Gaul fell through, wondering what was happening down below. After Sonic Sr flew back to the chamber's upper level, Cynder was horrified to see Sonic Sr as Dark Super Sonic Sr, and quickly knocked him out of the Lunar Alignment's energy beam, returning the young blue hedgehog to normal. Sonic Sr apologized for his inability to control his new powers, though Cynder forgave him, stating that he was with friends. However, as a result of Sonic Sr's battle with Gaul, the mountain began to collapse. Cynder spotted an opening big enough for all three of them to escape through, but Sonic Sr was left weakened from his battle with Gaul and urged Cynder and Sparx to go without him, to which they both refused to do so. The opening soon collapsed, trapping the three within the collapsing Ruined Russian Base. Sonic Sr recalled the Chronicler's words as he utilized his Time Fury to freeze Cynder, Sparx, and himself inside a crystal, protecting them from harm as the ruined Russian base crumbled around them. ''Sonic Lost World'' After three years of being trapped in the time crystal in Moscow, Sonic Sr and Cynder were broken free of their crystal prison by a group of Grublins in the ruins of Russian Base in Moscow. A pair of magical necklaces in the shape of snakes were attached to their necks while they laid unconscious, linking the two dragons together and preventing them from being able to move freely or away from each other. They were taken away to the Catacombs to be sacrificed to the Golem under Malefor's orders, and were then pinned by the chain to the floor of a large platform. Sonic Sr. and Cynder soon awakened, noticing that they were in a large chamber with Grublins at opposing sides anticipating the arrival of the Golem in the ruined city of San Francsico (after the city was destroyed by Xehanort). They both attempted to leave, but found out they were both chained to the floor and were forced to fight waves of Grublins, until the large Golem arrived and scared the Grublins away. Sonic Sr and Cynder managed to break free of the floor, but remain tethered together, and they tried to repel the Golem. When they failed to defeat it, Hunter, a cheetah warrior, saved the black dragoness and the blue hedgehog, telling them that he had been sent by Ignitus to find them three years earlier, much to their disbelief. On their way to New York City where Ignitus is expecting their arrival, Hunter explained to Sonic Sr and Cynder that the Dark Master, Malefor, had returned immediately after their disappearance and proceeded to shroud the world in darkness. While journey into New York City, however it was interrupted when Sonic Sr, Cynder, and Hunter were captured by Hunter's tribe, whose leader, Chief Prowlus, was distrustful of Dragons because of Malefor and Cynder when she was under the latter's control, but Sonic told Prowlus that he interupted the journey to New York and told the Chief that they will be trustful of the Americans. After saving the village, Sonic Sr volunteered to find a missing member of the cheetah tribe, and Cynder went along. Along the way, they encountered an old hermit, who Cynder didn't recognize. The Hermit insisted that he knew her, however recognizing her as the monstrous dragon she was from Sonic 2006 by her eyes, warning the dragoness of a fate she may very well suffer for being in service to Malefor, and that the Dark Master would find her for betraying him. Cynder became visibly upset over this, but Sonic Sr reassured her by telling her not to listen to the Hermit, and the dragon and the hedgehog soon departed, not wanting to hear anymore of the Hermit's words. When they arrived at New York, Cynder assisted in the city's defense. Shortly after the Golem was defeated, Sonic Sr and Cynder were happily reunited with Ignitus and the other Dragon Guardians. Cynder then revealed to Ignitus the snake chains that binded her and Sonic Sr together while claiming that it is the only reason for her to be there, and the Fire Guardian replied that it was irremovable. As Cynder appeared frantic that the chain would remain around her neck, Ignitus added that the chain was more than a hindrance, but a reminder of the bond Sonic Sr and Cynder shared, and that their destinies were intertwined. Cynder and Sonic Sr turned to each other, and shared what seemed to be a loving glance. After Malefor declared his plan to end the world and lets loose the Destroyer, but Sonic Sr told Malefor that he cannot let you him destroy Earth, Cynder came up with a plan to stop the immense Golem: destroying a dam holding back the water from a valley. With the Destroyer momentarily halted as a result, Sonic Sr and Cynder tried to destroy it, only to discover that it was unstoppable, and the Destroyer was able to complete its circle needed to initiate the world's destruction. They decided the only other course of action was to face Malefor himself. Ignitus took the two dragons through the Belt of Fire, sacrificing himself in the process in order to get them through. Sonic Sr was upset over this and nearly went back into the fire to save Ignitus, transforming into Dark Super Sonic Sr in his grief. However Cynder brought him back to his senses and comforted him in his despair by nuzzling up to him, reminding him that he wasn't alone. While treking through the Lava Mountain, Cynder felt uneasy as she didn't know if she wanted to face Malefor, deciding at first to give up, but Sonic Sr reminded her that they mustn't, otherwise their journey would be all for nothing. She agreed on his behalf, but claimed that she was only coming along because she wanted to get rid of the green chain that bound her and Sonic Sr.. Together, they ventured through to the Lava Mountain and finally arrived at Malefor's Lair after Copy Sonic and Raiden spliting up. There, Cynder told Sonic Sr that she was scared, but despite that, they both confronted Malefor after Sonic Sr instructed her to stay close to him. Inside, Malefor began the task of verbal corruption of Sonic Sr, and stated that they have more similar qualities than just their color. Sonic Sr. immediately began to deny Malefor's words, and Cynder told Sonic Sr to not listen to anything the evil dragon said. Malefor proceeded to release Spyro and Cynder from the magical chain linking them, and it is then that the Dark Master claimed that his influence over Cynder had not been extinguished, saying he had caused her to lead Sonic Sr. to him and that she tricked Sonic Sr. into resurrecting Malefor. Cynder at first denied his words, but gradually grew unsure over her actions in the past, allowing Malefor to once again unlock the darkness within her and turn Cynder back to his cause. She began to attack Sonic Sr., who only shrank away whilst Malefor continued to taunt him, claiming that there had been many purple dragons before them, and that their destiny was to destroy the world, not save it. He went on to say that, during each age, the purple dragon would call upon the Destroyer and the Golems of the Deep to bring about "the Great Cleansing". Sonic Sr refused to believe Malefor, while Cynder continued to attack the young dragon relentlessly. After striking him several times, she growled at Sonic Sr to fight back before demanding to know why he wouldn't do so. Disheartened, Sonic Sr told Cynder that losing her had left him with nothing to fight for. Upon hearing those words and discovering Sonic Sr's feelings, Cynder broke free of Malefor's hold, and lovingly replied that there was always something. Enraged by the turn of events, The Dark Master chained Cynder back to Sonic Sr, and declared that she would share his fate before battling both dragon and the hedgehog but was told by Sonic Sr that he used Chaos Emeralds to destroy him and the Dark Chains and became Super Sonic Sr. During their first phase in the battle, the Destroyer managed to throw itself back into the volcano from whence it came, thus completing its circuit and beginning the destruction of their world. Super Sonic Sr, Cynder, and Malefor continued to fight however, and the Dark Master was soon thrown down to the planet's heart, a giant purple crystal, by a joint attack. Malefor declared that he cannot be defeated as he was eternal, but Super Sonic Sr told him that no one's eternal and impaled Malefor with Old Excalibur. However, the spirits of the Ancients, the Dragons who taught the wounded Malefor all he knew, emerged from the purple crystal upon these words, and proceeded to drag Malefor into the planet's heart and sealed him away, much to his dismay and the awe of Sonic Sr and Cynder. With Malefor gone, the chain around Cynder's necks disappeared except Super Sonic Sr (who destroyed the Dark Chain) along with his dark magic, but Malefor's plan was still underway as the planet was breaking itself apart. Cynder apologized to Super Sonic Sr for her past actions, and Super Sonic Sr forgave her, telling her that she shouldn't be sorry now that it was all over. She then wondered if this was the end, as pieces of the world was breaking apart around them. With Ignitus's words in his head, Super Sonic Sr realized what he had to do to save the world, and told Cynder to get out of the earth's core, not wanting to risk her life should he fail. Not wanting to lose Sonic Sr again, Cynder refused to leave him, and as Super Sonic Sr used his powers to try and prevent the world's end, she whispered to Super Sonic Sr that she loved him. The world was then restored by Sonic Sr's desperate endeavor with Chaos Emeralds as it was slowly being put back together, but it seemed that both Sonic Sr and Cynder were killed as a result. In the post-credits scene, the Chronicler chose the spirit of Ignitus to be the next Chronicler of the new age. Before passing his mantle, the Chronicler informed Ignitus that though he has tried his best, he cannot find any trace of Sonic Sr in the book that details dragons who have died suggesting that he is still alive. As Ignitus began searching through the book to find where Sonic Sr and Cynder might be, the scene changes to the scenery of the United States Valley. Sonic Sr and Cynder were seen wheeling through the skies above the valley, alive, free of their chain and finally being able to live happily ever after before being married and gave the birth of the son which named him, Sonic the Hedgehog Jr. Many years later, Cynder and Sonic Sr both retired for being a protagonist just they selected Sonic Jr as their replacements. After Sonic Jr became a member of New York Combat Revue, Cynder died in Washington, D.C. in August 31, 2065. Relationships Sonic the Hedgehog Sr After Sonic Sr. freed her from Malefor's grasp, Cynder felt responsible for the suffering she caused to everyone, including Sonic Sr., to the point that she wanted to run away and discover herself. At first she saw Sonic Sr. as a friend whom she was willing to help but not necessarily work together with (likely coming from her guilt and fear that no one had forgiven her for her actions). She still showed genuine concern for him when he became Dark Super Sonic Sr. and trust in him when Sonic Sr. protected them with the time crystal. When they were chained together, Cynder claimed that she was only working with Sonic Sr. because they were stuck together. However as they spent more time together, she quickly realized that Sonic Sr. really cares and has a heartfelt understanding of her, and she started to care about him in the same way. Her friendship with Sonic Sr. eventually blossoms into true love as evident in the middle of Sonic Lost World. After defeating the Golem and reuniting with Ignitus, the two shared a loving glance for a moment. After Ignitus' death, Cynder starts speaking to Sonic Sr. in a soft tone of voice from there on out. Her feelings for Sonic Sr. (who used Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic Sr. by destroying the green chains) became strong enough for her to break free from Malefor's control upon realizing that he has feelings for her. Super Sonic Sr. frequently reminds Cynder that she isn't responsible for her actions in the past even if the other denizens still remember her corrupted days and despise her, and the young black dragoness quickly takes on a more positive attitude. When Super Sonic Sr. was ready to use his power to restore the shattered world which would cost him his life, Cynder was given the choice to leave and save herself, but instead she chose to stay and admitted her love to Sonic Sr. before seemingly dying together with him. In the post-credits scene, the blue hedgehog and the black dragoness were seen still together over the United States Valley were married and gave the son named Sonic the Hedgehog Jr. after having survived. Sparx Spyro's companion and foster brother, Sparx, doesn't get along with Cynder very well, mostly due to him still thinking that she is still evil, unlike Sonic Sr., who truly understands her, or might be jealous of her garnering Sonic Sr.'s attention rather than him. Cynder always takes a more sarcastic personality when "conversing" with Sparx and commented that she likes Hunter simply because he told Sparx that he 'was making too much noise'. The argument between the two seemed to have been diminished when Sparx couldn't accompany Sonic Sr. and Cynder to the Lava Mountain to face Malefor, and the two know that their differences should be saved for another time to come. It is assumed that Sparx is jealous of Cynder because Sonic Sr. is growing more close to her than he did with Sparx. Malefor Corrupted into serving Malefor, Cynder was fully loyal to the Dark Master and entirely focused on bringing him back. After being released from his control, she wanted to fight against Malefor and tried to warn Gaul about not letting him return. She became determined to not become Malefor's slave again, and began wearing jewelry similar to the one she had worn when she was his servant as a form of facing her fear of him. However, she was still afraid of Malefor to a certain level, and during the final battle, he easily made her doubt herself and took control over her for a moment. Character Development Cynder was one of the rare opportunities for Krome Studios to create a female villain character in The Legend of Spyro series that was both unique and fresh design wise. But they also felt as if she had been a part of the Spyro mythology for quite some time. The story for the first installment of the trilogy,'' A New Beginning'', called for "a powerful and shadowy dark dragon" to be Spyro's nemesis, beyond that no specification was given and the starting point was very loose. Bruno Rime, Cynder's character designer and art lead of the project in Krome Studios, determined that this villain be female and a black dragon, as the previous dragon villain in the earlier Spyro titles (Red) was generally red coloured. For both Bruno Rime and Jared Pullen, another artist who worked on A New Beginning, from the get go presence was paramount, and the black dragon Maleficent from the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty had that in spades. They used the villainess's reference in terms of her lithe, sinuous form, which they adopted for Cynder's overall body structure. But pretty soon, Bruno was exploring Gothic overtones in keeping with the visual cues of Concurrent Skies, the environment that Cynder was first encountered in. The platinum jewelry was evident as a personal touch for the 'evil' version of Cynder and served to signify her as both feminine and regal, but also gave the impressions of servitude, as if the decoration about her throat was less a necklace and more a manacle, indicating her enslavement to Malefor's thrall. The development team later went on to call Cynder a "Midnight Dragon," owing to this Gothic nature, and all the design work was handled by Bruno. There were about three or four iterations on her design from memory, as Bruno had a strong vision for who Cynder was visually. During development, Cynder was referred to as "The Anti-Spyro" and the Apes were known as "Anti-Spyro Soldiers." Knowing that they couldn't ship the game with those names in place, the development team ran an internal competition for the final name for the female dragon villain at both Krome Studios and Vivendi Universal (now branded Activision) and after about three weeks, they chose the name Jared Pullen called the black dragon Cynder. International Voice actresses Notes *In the Italian version of The Legend of Spyro Trilogy, Cynder is known as "Cinerea" (a female-gendered word meaning "grey as ashes") *In the Russian version of The Legend of Spyro Trilogy, Cynder is known as "Огара''.'" *In the Finnish version of ''The Legend of Spyro Trilogy, Cynder has a completely different name, which she is known as: '''"''Kekäle" (in which that is literally Finnish for: "Cinder"). Trivia *In Dawn of the Dragon, the sudden appearance of Cynder's iron jewelry was unexplained, since she didn't wear them on before she, Spyro, and Sparx were frozen in time. **It was later revealed by one of the producers of the Legend of Spyro trilogy, that Cynder wears the iron jewelry as a way of facing her fear of becoming Malefor's servant again. There was originally going to be a cutscene involving her putting the jewelry on, but there was no time in creating and adding the scene in during the game's production. *Cynder's black scales, markings, and sinister powers were a result of Malefor's corruption. It is implied by Jared Pullen that her true element was Wind before she turned. *Throughout Dawn of the Dragon, Cynder was the only one who was greatly irritated that she was tethered to Spyro, and wanted to get the green chain off as soon as possible. *Lead concept artist of A New Beginning and The Eternal Night, Jared Pullen, revealed that Spyro and Cynder weren't originally going to fall in love with each other. But since the fans wanted to see them together, the team obliged. *In the GBA version of The Eternal Night, Amaze Entertainment mistakenly labeled Cynder as Spyro's "sibling," which is entirely false. *In Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, there is a dragonfly named Cinder. *Cynder is one of two roles in The Legend of Spyro series to be constantly recast (the other being Sparx). She is voiced by Cree Summer in A New Beginning, Mae Whitman in The Eternal Night, and Christina Ricci in Dawn of the Dragon. *Despite Cynder being a black dragon, her scales sometimes appear to be purple, be it dark purple, when compared to Spyro in Dawn of the Dragon. This appears mostly in previous concept art of Cynder, and in the final game of the series (where her body is seemingly always shown to be purple). It could be a glitch, a color error, or could also be a result of the lighting (notice that blacklights glow purple). It is also possible that if her coloring was black, it would be hard to see the shading on her. **She is, however, black in the DS and mobile version of Dawn of the Dragon. *Taking both the original and The Legend of Spyro series into consideration, Cynder is one of the only other playable dragons who does not have the same elements as Spyro. *Cynder is the only female character who has really proved to Spyro that she is in love with him in Dawn of the Dragon, at the same time she is the only female character in any game of any continuity that Spyro developed feelings for. *In the movie called Dragons: Destiny Of Fire, there is a dragon called Marina who is very similar to Cynder because they have the same horns, the same eyes, both are partners to the main character, and they have almost the same color. *In A New Beginning, Cynder's wings are shown to have a few holes (possibly from the battles she had won), but her wings didn't have any holes in most cutscenes, likely from the pre-rendered cutscenes using models differing from those in the game. *Cynder is the only Legend character to have a different role in each game; in A New Beginning, she was the antagonist, in The Eternal Night she was a deuteragonist, and in Dawn of the Dragon, she was a protagonist. **It should be noted that, like her role, she has a different physical look for each game; as she appears shorter after A New Beginning. *In A New Beginning, Cynder was shown using a dark fire element, although this ability never appeared after the game. *Cynder's corrupted form has two bracers on her tail, while her normal form only has one. This is because in her adult form, her tail is long enough to allow enough space for more than two bracers. *The scene when Spyro is being attacked by Cynder in Dawn of the Dragon is later used as a reference in the ''Skylanders'' series as one of the scenarios that depicts Sonic the Hedgehog Sr II]'s first battle with Cynder Jr when she was under Malefor's influence. *In the GBA version of The Eternal Night, Cynder does not appear in Fellmuth Arena, instead, Ignitus appears. *Many fans believe that after Dawn of the Dragon, Spyro and Cynder are dead, but it clearly shows that in the cutscene after the credits they had survived as they are seen flying above the Valley of Avalar. *Given the situations, Cynder may have been cast as the damsel in distress. First being under the control of Malefor and almost sucked into the Convexity vortex in A New Beginning, then being kidnapped and held hostage by Gaul in The Eternal Night. *Cynder is one of only two known female characters in the entire Legend of Spyro series, the other being Nina. *In the cutscenes of A New Beginning ''and ''The Eternal Night, the bottom of Cynder's chin appears to be red colored, however, in the actual gameplay and in Dawn of the Dragon, her chin is black. *The silhouette of Cynder, seen in one of the cutscenes of A New Beginning, looks similar to Maleficent's dragon form from Disney's Sleeping Beauty. **It is also the first glimpse the player gets of her in the entire series Category:Sonic the Hedgehog characters Category:Super Smash Bros. fighters Category:Female characters in video games Category:Fictional dragons Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2006 Category:Universal Studios cartoons and characters Category:Spyro the Dragon Category:Child characters in video games Category:Animal characters in video games Category:Activision characters Category:Anthropomorphic characters in video games Category:Dragon characters in video games Category:Fantasy video game characters Category:Video game characters with electric or magnetic abilities Category:Video game bosses Category:Video game antagonists Category:Video game protagonists Category:Fictional henchmen in video games Category:Ghost characters in video games Category:Fictional characters who can manipulate darkness or shadows